Introduction
The Judicial Appointments Tracker is committed to providing comprehensive updates on the status of candidates recommended for judgeship by the Supreme Court Collegium until their appointments are ratified by the Central Government. This article details the recommendations made by the Collegium and the subsequent appointments confirmed by the government between April and June 2026.
April Developments
On April 10, 2026, the Central Government approved the Supreme Court Collegium’s March 24 recommendation for the Madras High Court. The following judges were confirmed as permanent: Justice R Poornima, Justice M Jothiraman, and Justice Augustine Devadoss Maria Clete. Additionally, the government sanctioned the conversion of five additional judges of the Chhattisgarh High Court into permanent judges on the same day: Justice Sachin Singh Rajput, Justice Radhakishan Agrawal, Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal, Justice Bibhu Datta Guru, and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad.
Further, on April 14, the Collegium proposed the appointment of advocate Preeta AK and Senior Advocate Liz Mathew to the Kerala High Court. The Central Government approved Preeta AK’s appointment on April 24, while Liz Mathew’s nomination is pending. That same day, recommendations were made for three judicial officers to become judges of the Karnataka High Court: Rajeshwari Narayana Hegde, Kedambadi Ganesh Shanthi, and Brungesh Mahadevappa. The government confirmed these appointments on May 29.
The Collegium also suggested Justice Manjusha Ajay Deshpande be made a permanent judge of the Bombay High Court, which was cleared on April 24. The Andhra Pradesh High Court saw four additional judges recommended for permanent status on April 14, with the government approving these on April 24.
On April 23, the Central Government announced Justice Lisa Gill’s appointment as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Justice Gill succeeded Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur upon his retirement on April 24. Her early transfer adhered to new Supreme Court Collegium policy directives.
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May Developments
On May 5, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the appointment of 10 advocates, including three women, as judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The government has yet to approve these nominations. Additionally, three judicial officers were recommended for the Andhra Pradesh High Court, whose appointments were cleared on July 3.
On May 12, recommendations for nine advocates to the Calcutta High Court were made, pending government clearance. On May 19, the Collegium suggested the appointment of 19 individuals to the Madras High Court, including 10 advocates and nine judicial officers. These recommendations await government approval.
The Collegium proposed six additional judges of the Bombay High Court be made permanent on May 19, a recommendation cleared on June 6. On May 22, Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai was recommended as the next Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, and the government confirmed this on June 2. She took charge after Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo’s retirement on June 4.
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On May 27, the elevation of four High Court Chief Justices and one Senior Advocate as judges of the Supreme Court was suggested. The government approved these on June 1.
June Developments
The Central Government issued notifications on June 1, appointing acting Chief Justices across four High Courts following the elevation of their Chief Justices to the Supreme Court. The appointments included Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra, Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge, Justice Vivek Rusia, and Justice Sanjeev Kumar.
On June 2, the Collegium recommended appointments to three High Courts, including six lawyers for the Karnataka High Court, three judicial officers for the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and advocate Amit Lahoti for the Madhya Pradesh High Court. These recommendations await government clearance.
On June 10, the government approved the appointment of seven lawyers as judges of the Patna High Court, with four confirmed as permanent judges and three as additional judges. However, the appointments of two additional advocates remain pending.
Finally, on June 19, the government notified Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty’s appointment as Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court following Justice Sujoy Paul’s retirement.
